Sixteen year old Taylor Oh is cursed: if she is touched by the ghost of a murder victim then they pass a mark beneath her skin. She has three weeks toSixteen year old Taylor Oh is cursed: if she is touched by the ghost of a murder victim then they pass a mark beneath her skin. She has three weeks to find their murderer and pass the mark to them, letting justice take place and sending them into the Darkness. If she doesn’t make it in time? The Darkness will come for her. She spends her life trying to avoid ghosts, make it through school where she’s bullied by Justin and his cronies, keep her one remaining friend, and persuade her father that she’s not going crazy. But then Justin is murdered and everything gets worse. Justin doesn’t know who killed him, so there’s no obvious person for Taylor to go after. The clues she has lead her to a vicious secret society at her school where no one is allowed to leave, and where Justin was dared to do the stunt which led to his death. Can she find out who was responsible for his murder before the Darkness comes for her? Can she put aside her hatred for her former bully to truly help him? And what happens if she starts to fall for him?

The Weight of Souls starts off as an intriguing paranormal mystery about a prickly Asian-British heroine with a curse rooted in Egyptian mythology, her 'mission' to track down murderers and deliver revenge and redemption on behalf of their victims, but the book falls flat, weighed down by repetition, a backstory with complicated flashbacks, and an overall depressing tone.

The book starts quickly, the first chapter is rather fast-paced and is filled with conflict. Then the second chapter comes in and mixes Taylor's curse and the need to keep it secret with the fellow classmates that bully and verbally abuse her. But then the story slows, held back by Taylor's father voicing the same concerns over and over. The scenes between the two are often the same, often contain the same arguments, and it was hard for me to see either of them moving forward during those chapters.

Taylor doesn't have a lot to be happy about. She's hated at school, feared by her father, used by ghosts, and frightened of the Darkness coming after her and swallowing her whole. She hates the ghosts that come at her, touching her without a thought or care. She's trapped by the curse passed down to her through her mother. There's potential solace in her friend Hannah, but Taylor's curse constantly drives a wedge between them. And so Taylor's often left to struggle and search on her own.

I found the romance to be very problematic. As Taylor spends time with Justin's ghost, as they work at uncovering the truth behind his death, she starts to like him more and more. It's more than the fact that he used to bully her, that he used to put her down. He's also dead, as in not coming back to life dead. He's trapped by unfortunate circumstance, as is she because of the nature of her curse, and I don't see their relationship progressing.

The curse that afflicts Taylor (and her mother before she died) is confusing. It's Egyptian in origin but it passed down through one of Taylor's mother's Chinese ancestors. The old family story about the first family member to be cursed is told to readers as flashbacks, perhaps relied on too heavily at times. I wanted more Taylor, more of her searching and hunting around, more of her figuring out what to do, more of her growth as a character.

Taylor challenges bullies, challenges a secret group, and challenges a curse, but she's overshadowed by a rather somber mood and an overwhelming darkness. Those, plus the repetition, the somewhat confusing backstory, and the unfortunate romance kept me from enjoying the book....more

Bree, Olivia, Kitty, and Margot have nothing in common—at least that's what they'd like the students and administrators of their elite private schoolBree, Olivia, Kitty, and Margot have nothing in common—at least that's what they'd like the students and administrators of their elite private school to think. The girls have different goals, different friends, and different lives, but they share one very big secret: They're all members of Don't Get Mad, a secret society that anonymously takes revenge on the school's bullies, mean girls, and tyrannical teachers. When their latest target ends up dead with a blood-soaked "DGM" card in his hands, the girls realize that they're not as anonymous as they thought—and that someone now wants revenge on them. Soon the clues are piling up, the police are closing in, and everyone has something to lose.

Get Even is a classic revenge story with dangerous twists and turns. The level of tension is high, the level of drama is high, and the stakes are the highest they could be. Secrets surround the school like locusts, leaving barely any room for the truth to escape.

While they have the same over-arching goal, all 4 girls are very different. Bree, Olivia, Kitty, Margot. They have different personalities, different friends, different painful back stories. Different motives, different opinions. What I liked about their interactions and banter, the times when they were together, was that they never felt like friends. Instead, they felt like acquaintances, like co-workers. They're not friends, they couldn't be. Or else the entire school would know the truth behind DGM.

This book is all about revenge and consequences, both for the girls and those they target. The girls aren't immune to revenge. Everyone has secrets they wish were better hidden. Everyone has made mistakes. Everyone has lied and cheated. In the end, it's all about how far someone will go for payback, how much harm is caused, and how much is revealed.

Books like this, with revenge plots, certainly raise a number of questions when it comes to morals and condoning this kind of behaviour. In a way I'm torn on whether or not I believe that DGM is a good thing. Yes, I do believe that people should be punished if they do something wrong. Cheat, steal, assault, rape, murder. But do I believe that, if nothing is or can be done by police, revenge is the answer? When people we care about are hurt, in pain, or ruined, we would do anything to right those wrongs. But where do we draw the line between justice and vigilante? Is it all just black and white, or are there too many shades of grey for us to tell?

When the end came around, I had no idea who was going after the girls. There are possibilities, there can't not be possibilities, but there are so many and you only see so much of the story, only what the girls see. And even then, some are still keeping secrets. And what about the possibility that it's not one person, that some of the messages are from different people wanting their revenge on each of the girls? I won't deny the similarities to Burn for Burn, but I enjoyed this more. It was all about the girls and the mystery, about their secrets catching up on them and causing friction and distrust. I can't wait for the next book, for even more hints and clues.

(I received an advance copy of this title to review from HarperCollins Canada.)...more

Celia Door enters her freshman year of high school with giant boots, dark eyeliner, and a thirst for revenge against Sandy Firestone, the girl who didCelia Door enters her freshman year of high school with giant boots, dark eyeliner, and a thirst for revenge against Sandy Firestone, the girl who did something unspeakable to Celia in eighth grade. But then Celia meets Drake, the cool new kid from New York City who entrusts her with his deepest, darkest secret, who makes her look at things a different way. When Celia's quest for justice threatens her relationship with Drake, she's forced to decide which is sweeter: the revenge she craves or the friendship she never knew she needed.

The Sweet Revenge of Celia Door is a clever, honest, and insightful look at one girl's entrance into high school and all it entails, including a reunion with the girls from middle school who made eighth grade painful. Celia is an interesting sort of character, funny and clever but sad and confused, and her experience will resonate with anyone who'd ever felt alone and bullied by their peers.

One thing that stands out the most in this book is Celia's voice. She's creative, she's wise, she's knowledgeable after reading book after book from the public library. She has her own way of seeing the world around her, seeing her parents' marriage stagnate and turn into something else, seeing Drake struggle with the secret that only she knows, seeing Sandy Firestone and waiting for the day she'll get her revenge. There's a mention of Celia studying the high school's yearbook so she could prepare for her freshman year, but there is no studying. It's a jump into the deep end for everyone, we just have to hope we can tread water or that there are people nearby willing to help keep us afloat.

Celia's poems are a coping mechanism, a way for her to express what she's feeling when she's keeping it all inside. She doesn't tell either of her parents, her forgetful mother or absent father, how she feels, she doesn't tell Drake the truth behind how she feels, and so it's all building up inside her, escaping in little bursts of poems that no one is ever meant to see.

At fourteen, Celia is a young narrator for a young adult novel, but the message of this book is no less powerful or important. She's been bullied, she's become Dark, but is getting her revenge on Sandy Firestone worth it? Is revenge ever worth it? With revenge, Celia wants Sandy to feel exactly how she felt, she wants her to feel the pain and the shame that she was put through, but she never considers the end. Those who plan revenge plots rarely consider the aftermath, the whispers, the additional pain that could surface. If Celia goes through with her revenge, she might lose the only friend she has.

Those early years of high school, the first year or two, they're the start of you discovering what you want to be, who you're going to be. You don't want those times to be sad, to be painful, to weight you down until you're about to buckle under the pressure. It's not about becoming who other people want you to be, it's about figuring out who you want to be. Be the best you you can be, hang out with who you want to hang out with. Maybe then high school will be pretty sweet....more

Gabe has always identified as a boy, but he was born with a girl's body. With his new public access radio show growing in popularity, Gabe struggles wGabe has always identified as a boy, but he was born with a girl's body. With his new public access radio show growing in popularity, Gabe struggles with romance, friendship, and his parents, all while trying to come out as transgendered. An audition for a radio station in Minneapolis looks like a ticket to a better life in the big city, but his entire future is threatened when some people find out that Gabe the DJ is also Elizabeth from school.

At times humourous, honest, and complicated in the way only life as a teenager can be, Beautiful Music for Ugly Children is a glimpse into Gabe's life as he's transitioning from Elizabeth to Gabe near the end of high school, a look into his life, his hopes and dreams, his pain and struggles.

What I loved about this book is its raw honesty. Who we are when the world sees us, who we are on the inside, who we want to be, who we see when we look in the mirror, they're all different. When you're a teenager, you're figuring out who you are, questioning your life up until that moment, questioning what you're working towards, questioning how your body doesn't look the way you want it to, and some even question their gender.

Gabe is wonderful. I like calling him Gabe because he's Gabe. When we meet him at the beginning of the book, there are little pieces of Elizabeth, but there's mostly Gabe. Of course, there will always be the little pieces of Elizabeth in Gabe. He deals with so much in the book, the trials and tribulations of high school, keeping Gabe a secret apart from his best friend Paige (who he has a crush on) and his family (who can't accept Gabe because all they see is Elizabeth). The only time Gabe can be himself is that one hour a week in the middle of the night at a community radio station talking about something universal: music. I loved how he was one of those music geeks who appreciates music and its message while being unable to play an instrument.

But then there are the times when Gabe would hide, like he wanted to be open with the world but not in front of people who knew him as Elizabeth because he feared the backlash. The way people can turn on each other because of differences and opinions is terrible. No one in the entire world is exactly alike, so why does it bring out the worst in people when our differences are exposed?

People, like records, have their A sides and their B sides. The side the world sees, and the side you are on the inside. Lots of people have their different sides. What's important to remember is this book is about Gabe and his different sides, Gabe the human being who deserves to be the person he wants to be and not the person his family or his friends or the whole world want him to be. It's all about Gabe, and he just happens to be transitioning from being a girl to being a guy.

I read YA because of books like this. New worlds, new viewpoints, new characters. It's not always a completely accurate representation of real life, but it's as close as the author can make it. I can only imagine the confusion and the struggles of teens like Gabe not just in the US but all over the world, but there are also good moments. There are the friends and the family members that keep supporting them, laughing with them, loving them. Everyone has their A side and their B side, and whichever you choose to live, live it the best way that you can....more

The sheriff's son is not the golden boy everyone thinks he is, and Romy Grey knows that for a fact. Because no one wants to believe a girl from the wrThe sheriff's son is not the golden boy everyone thinks he is, and Romy Grey knows that for a fact. Because no one wants to believe a girl from the wrong side of town, the truth about him has cost her everything—friends, family, and her community. Branded a liar and bullied relentlessly by a group of kids she used to hang out with, Romy's only refuge is the diner where she works outside of town. No one knows her name or her past there; she can finally be anonymous. But when a girl with ties to both Romy and the sherrif's son goes missing after a party, and news of him assaulting another girl in a town close by gets out, Romy must decide whether she wants to fight or carry the burden of knowing more girls could get hurt if she doesn't speak up. Nobody believed her the first time, and they certainly won't now, but the cost of her silence might be more than she can bear.

All the Rage is about the dark, secret things kept tucked away, swept under rugs, that should be discussed. It's about the heavy things out in the open for all the world to see that shouldn't be. It's a harsh view of the world centered around, unfortunately, a common occurrence that is rarely awarded the value and importance it deserves.

Romy is in pain, suffering in silence, trying to move on from what happened but few will let her. Many adults, many classmates, they all assume the worst about her. That she's a liar. That she wasn't raped. But she isn't, and she was. Her anger and sorrow are woven together, filling each page with her rage, her hopelessness. Everyone asks everything and nothing from her. They believe her to be a liar but offer no opportunity for her to present her side. They don't care about her. She isn't the kind of girl they care about. But Penny, gorgeous and missing Penny, is.

Part of this book is about Romy speaking out against what happened to her, about what's happening in Grebe. She has the power to speak out against her rapist, but at the same time she doesn't. Any power she once had was stripped from her, by the police, by her peers. By her rapist. Because that's what rape is. It isn't about sex, it's about power. Without it, what's left for Romy? How can she speak up, speak out, when she has nothing? When they've reduced her to nothing?

Girls are treated terribly, both here and in real life. The ways we judge, the ways we're judged. All because we look a certain way or act a certain way, because of who our parents are/were or what part of town we live in. We're believed or we aren't because of things we have no control over. There's the truth, there's what people think happen, and there's those who turn a blind eye because they'd rather believe something else. But with so many people knowing what happened to Romy, what's the point? Money? Ruining a business or someone's "good" name? And why condemn Romy but search high and low for Penny? Double standards rule the world.

Is this what the future holds, what the present currently holds, for young women who say they were raped? Ignorance. Slurs. Taunting. Abuse. Should we tell young girls that this is how the world works? That if they're ever raped, it's possible that no one will believe you? That they'll blame you for ruining the life of a young man who had everything going for him? Why is the girl always blamed? This is horrifying. Instead of telling women to be careful, to not wear certain clothes, to not act a certain way, we should be telling men not to rape. Why is all the effort to not be raped placed on the woman? She's not the only person in the situation. Someone else is there, the one who actually causes all the pain and suffering.

This book is a work of fiction, but it's so much closer to reality for many girls. Having fun at parties, drinking too much because there aren't any adults around, unable to know where they are or who they're with, unable to say stop when there's a hand up her shirt or down her pants, when there's a hand over their mouth or an arm pressed into their throat to silence their cries. This should be required reading for everyone. Teenage boys as well as girls. Grown men as well as women.

(I received an advance copy of this title to review from Raincoast Books.)...more

I love that this anthology exists, but I'm surprised it's taken this long. I'm surprised that bullying still exists, that it still hurts, that it stilI love that this anthology exists, but I'm surprised it's taken this long. I'm surprised that bullying still exists, that it still hurts, that it still causes those scars that we can and can't see. Every classroom in the world deserves a copy of this book.

Better yet, every kid deserves a copy of this book. Who do I talk to about implementing this book being a mandatory gift to kids when they turn (let's say) 13?...more

The Fourth Down needs a drummer, and Sidney's easily the best in school, but the all-guy band has some conditions for her to be allowed in... such asThe Fourth Down needs a drummer, and Sidney's easily the best in school, but the all-guy band has some conditions for her to be allowed in... such as dressing like a girl. Accustomed to invisibility, Sid soon discovers the consequences of her makeover. It's not just that playing her drum kit in a skirt is impractical, but as someone who was once taunted about her sexuality for being a girl drummer who likes shop class, she's now forced to deal with guys who see her as fair game and Sid soon realizes the the price of compromising who you really are.

Drummer Girl is an interesting look at someone who is clearly not a "typical" high school girl (I mean "typical" as what society and pop culture consider "typical" for high school girls, it's a stereotype I hope you'll forgive me for referencing). She's quirky, she's comfortable in jeans and old band t-shirts, she's a huge fan of classic rock bands, and because she's not "typical," there are assumptions and stereotypes placed on her. It's her choice to dress how she wants, to be interested in what she likes, to hang out with who she wants to, but she'll have to decide if she wants to stay the way she is or chance for the sake of others.

What I liked about Sid is she was certainly her own person. She just wanted to play drums, to listen to classic rock bands like Rush, to have fun in shop class. She wants to be the one who decides who she is, and when people start thinking she's something else, she gets punchy. Which I understand, no one wants to be called names or put down when they're being themselves.

But there was something that bothered me, and that was Sid's desire to change herself because some people assumed that she was a lesbian because of how she dressed and acted. There was nothing wrong with Sid, nothing beyond a warped sense of needing to completely change her image in order for people to see her as "straight" and "normal" and "a girl." It's not all her fault for changing, there were many times when I wanted to scream at all the jocks and the band guys and her cousin for making her think that she was wrong and they were right, but I wish Sid had a bit more inner strength. Of course, if she did, the book would've been very boring. Still, it's upsetting when teenagers, girls and boys, feel the need to dress or act a certain way because they think it'll help them fit in or make friends or stop the bullying.

One of the purposes of high school, besides learning, is giving teenagers the chance to figure out who they are, to invent yourself and reinvent yourself until you're comfortable with who you are. That's what one of the most important things, discovering who you are and what you're going to be, but you have to make sure you know where the line is between reinventing yourself and lying to yourself....more

Lillia, Kat, and Mary had the perfect plan. Work together in secret to take down the people who wronged them. But things didn’t exactly go the way theLillia, Kat, and Mary had the perfect plan. Work together in secret to take down the people who wronged them. But things didn’t exactly go the way they’d hoped at the Homecoming Dance. Not even close. For now, it looks like they got away with it. All they have to do is move on and pick up the pieces, forget there ever was a pact. But it’s not easy, not when Reeve is still a total jerk and Rennie’s meaner than she ever was before. And then there’s sweet little Mary…she knows there’s something seriously wrong with her. If she can’t control her anger, she’s sure that someone will get hurt even worse than Reeve was. Mary understands now that it’s not just that Reeve bullied her, it’s that he made her love him. Eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth, burn for a burn. A broken heart for a broken heart. It seems once a fire is lit, the only thing you can do is let it burn.

Fire with Fire continues the story of three teen girls looking to get their revenge on those that have hurt them, those who have wronged them and almost ruined their lives. Now, after part of their plan has been put into motion, they have to be careful while continuing it. They can't run the risk of being found out, because if they are, everything will go up in flames.

Kat, Lillia, and Mary's plan to ruin homecoming for certain people sort of went wrong, but no one knows they set things in motion. No one knows they rigged the voting or slipped drugs into someone's drink. But they're constantly worried that someone will out them, that someone saw what they did and will expose them to the entire school.

The book goes deeper into what provokes them, what pushes them towards their certain goals in the revenge plot. Not Mary, necessarily, with her backstory already revealed in the first book, but Kat and what happened to her mother and Lillia and how she first met Reeve (part of Lillia's as well as Mary's backstory were revealed in the first book). There are shadows lurking in their pasts and they all still weigh heavily on them. The girls come together more in this book, work more as a unit, and move into the next part of their plan.

Now, while the revenge plot gives the girls the opportunity to give back as good as they got to those who wronged them, it's also petty, childish, and completely the wrong thing to do. With what happened at the end of Burn for Burn, they were lucky to go undetected. Lucky that no one died. By continuing they run the risk of being exposed even more.

On the surface, it's very much like a contemporary YA novel about three girls getting back at former friends and school bullies, but Mary sort of skews that idea. Mary's different. Mary can do things. Mary's still a wild card, still unpredictable, and at some point everything about Mary will be revealed to Lillia and Kat, to everyone, and then everything will change.

Because of the girls' fear of being discovered, the level of tension runs from medium to high, which was good. As with the first book, the overall premise was intriguing but I was still put off by the high school cliques and the catty nature of some of the characters, as well as the idea that getting revenge is the only way the girls will feel better. They have normal teen lives, but their plotting and scheming seems to take up a big part of those lives, more than I would think necessary. Fans of the first book and of previous books by both authors will surely enjoy this new installment....more